


dentato fino ai braccio

by werewolfkeeper



Category: Ghost (Sweden Band)
Genre: Gen, Goretober 2019, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mild Gore, Sister is just so very Tired, Teeth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:41:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21979735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/werewolfkeeper/pseuds/werewolfkeeper
Summary: The Ghoulette responded with a very impressive imitation of a sigh.  Quite world weary.  She had learned well from watching Sister.  "I̴n̵ ̷r̵a̸r̷e̵ ̶i̶n̷s̷t̵a̷n̷c̷e̴s̴.  F̸o̶r̴ ̷u̴s̵,̵ ̷i̷t̸'̵s̷ ̸a̶n̷ ̴i̷s̶s̶u̸e̶ ̸o̴f̴ ̴p̷r̵o̸x̴i̷m̸i̴t̵y̸.""F̶̚͜o̵͍͈̔͒r̴̞̼̀̓ ̵̣͒̓y̷͓͗̒o̷͙̎̀ŭ̵̩̣͋,̷͖̠͑͊ ̶̥́o̵̧̰n̵̻̄l̷̩̟̓ÿ̴̻͔́̓ ̸̡̯͐t̶̳̳̑ḫ̶̄̏r̷̼̃o̵̬͝u̸͉̇̎g̸̱͛̔h̷̬͒̋ ̵͚̖̃s̶̮͔̓e̷̠̞͆x̸̧͍̅͐," Buné butted in to offer, incredibly unhelpfully."Ah," Imperator said.  Any hint of satisfaction in her voice was sarcastic. "An STD."
Relationships: Cardinal Copia/Nameless Ghoul(s)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17





	dentato fino ai braccio

**Author's Note:**

> [Here's a translator](https://lingojam.com/ZalgoText) for those of you who don't speak Ghoul or have trouble with their accents!

Sister Imperator sat at her desk, pinching the bridge of her nose and bracing herself.

"Teeth," she repeated.

The demons sitting opposite of her exchanged looks. A string of sounds passed between them, mostly rumbles and musical trills, but then the Ghoul, Buné, articulated a clear, "Ỳ̸̜̬e̸̥̐s̸̡̮̋.̶̙͑."

Vinea nodded, tilting her head - apologetic, no threat or confrontation in it (which, Sister guessed, was why they did not bring Beleth to this meeting) - when she also said, "Y̴e̵s̷.̴." She rolled back her sleeve and pushed down her glove. Sure enough, there they were: four ivory points sticking out of a very small mouth on the Ghoulette's forearm. "T̸h̸i̵s̶ ̶i̴s̴ ̴t̴h̵e̶ ̴l̷a̶s̴t̶ ̶o̷f̴ ̶m̵i̵n̸e̸."

Imperator raised her eyebrows and hoped they weren't waiting on her to express anything other than exasperation. 

They weren't.

"S̴h̴o̶w̴ ̴h̵e̸r̷," the Ghoulette urged.

Buné's shoulders dropped, but he stood and lifted his shirt. His skin was slower to solidify than Vinea's, but once it found its human definitions...

If Sister Imperator could have physically rolled her eyes any further back into her head, she would have.

The huge mouth in the Ghoul's side was silently laughing, but the other two frowned cartoonishly around fangs that barely fit into the space cut out for them.

Imperator put her hand up.

Buné obediently pulled his shirt back down, squirming. Discomfort or embarrassment? Who knew. That Ghoul didn't have it in him to sit still on a good day.

"Contagious?" Imperator had to ask.

"V̴e̴r̴y̸," Vinea replied, but quickly added, "T̴o̴ ̴u̴s̶. N̷o̵t̶ ̸y̷o̶u̴."

Buné looked away and Imperator detected a touch of guilt in that turn. She pointed at him and waited for an answer.

The Ghoulette responded with a very impressive imitation of a sigh. Quite world weary. She had learned well from watching Sister. "I̴n̵ ̷r̵a̸r̷e̵ ̶i̶n̷s̷t̵a̷n̷c̷e̴s̴. F̸o̶r̴ ̷u̴s̵,̵ ̷i̷t̸'̵s̷ ̸a̶n̷ ̴i̷s̶s̶u̸e̶ ̸o̴f̴ ̴p̷r̵o̸x̴i̷m̸i̴t̵y̸."

"F̶̚͜o̵͍͈̔͒r̴̞̼̀̓ ̵̣͒̓y̷͓͗̒o̷͙̎̀ŭ̵̩̣͋,̷͖̠͑͊ ̶̥́o̵̧̰n̵̻̄l̷̩̟̓ÿ̴̻͔́̓ ̸̡̯͐t̶̳̳̑ḫ̶̄̏r̷̼̃o̵̬͝u̸͉̇̎g̸̱͛̔h̷̬͒̋ ̵͚̖̃s̶̮͔̓e̷̠̞͆x̸̧͍̅͐," Buné butted in to offer, incredibly unhelpfully.

"Ah," Imperator said. Any hint of satisfaction in her voice was sarcastic. "An STD." Her turn to sigh. She wondered if Vinea felt it as deeply as she did or if that was something the Ghoulette could only identify as situationally appropriate.

"F̴o̴r̸.̴.̴.̸y̸o̸u̷. Y̴e̵s̶."

"Next steps?"

"N̵o̵ ̵n̸e̴e̴d̴," the Ghoulette assured her. "W̷e̵ ̵w̴e̴r̷e̴ ̷i̴n̶ ̶q̵u̷a̷r̵a̸n̷t̸i̵n̷e̶,̴ ̵b̴u̷t̵ ̵i̵t̶'̸s̶ ̵m̶o̵s̷t̶l̷y̷ ̴p̵a̸s̷s̴e̵d̸. V̶e̶r̵y̶ ̸m̵i̶l̷d̴,̴ ̴t̵h̸i̷s̸ ̸t̶i̴m̵e̶."

Buné shook his head. Vinea shrugged. "F̴o̶r̴ ̴s̶o̴m̴e̵."

"Painful?"

The Ghoulette considered. "S̵o̴m̷e̷t̵i̷m̶e̶s̸."

"Ḭ̶̡̒͠n̷͚̂̚ ̴̞͂t̵͙̟͑͝h̵͉̪̍ȩ̵̭̿s̶̥̰̀͝e̴͇͕͒̾ ̸̡̬̉f̵̤͌̓o̵̗͑̃ṙ̶̤̈́m̸̮̆s̸̟̞͝," Buné added. "N̵͍͉̅o̷̤̠͗t̴̳̓͂ ̸͎͈̌̐v̶̤̂̔e̵͇̭̔r̴̦͎̐y̶̠̦͐͆ ̷͙͙͋f̶̖̓l̴̹̪̽͆e̵̝̍ẍ̴̢̗́̔i̶̢̜͛͒b̷̜͍͌͐l̷̳͒͘e̴͔̿. D̶̩̔͜ī̴̮̌f̶̝̟̈́f̵̦̑i̶͕̹͝c̶̰̮͋ủ̷̲̇l̴͖̫̂t̸̡̄̋. S̸̭̗͒͐o̸̰̓m̵͍͐ẽ̷̟̃t̸̮̺͒̉i̴͎̗̊m̴̟̚e̸̡͆ṡ̴̤̺̾."

"B̴u̶t̴.̷.̵.̶n̷o̴t̵ ̴a̴l̷w̴a̵y̴s̴," Vinea somehow found appropriate to clarify.

"Ǹ̸̦͋ȍ̸̮͕t̵͇̞̔ ̶͖̃̈a̵͓̅̉l̶̡͙̿̂w̶͙̎a̶͉̔y̴͚͘s̸͕͙̈," the Ghoul confirmed. "Ĭ̷̥̲ţ̴̥͐͑ ̶̢̊̾ç̴̣̄͝å̶̘̬̎n̵͍͚͋͝ ̷̲̈́b̴͖̝̍͝e̵̳̎.̸̬̃.̷̺.̴̩̈́̽n̸̄̈ͅȋ̶̧̖c̶͈̳̏ẻ̴͔,̸̟̟̒͐ ̶͚͎̔s̵̘̭͌̇o̷̼̞̾m̵̬̜̓e̷͔̺͐̾t̸̩̎i̷͎̎͆m̶̡̆̀ė̶͔s̵̼̾." He and Vinea found each other's eyes and Sister Imperator watched them share an understanding she did not want any part of. And laughter, low and pulsing.

Just like Imperator's headache. She pressed her hands as flat as she could get them on her desk and took a deep breath. It gave the Ghouls time to get nervous again. And quiet.

"Thank you," she said, with the barest minimum of gratitude, "for letting me know. And for dealing with it before I had need to. This IS touring season, so I can't have a repeat of last spring. None of us have the time for a corporeal reset." She stood to dismiss them, but was interrupted by a strangled yelp coming from the hallway outside her office.

It surprised exactly no one when Copia, the utterer of that yelp, appeared in the doorway, panicked. His demeanor changed once he saw the room was full. He chuckled nervously. "Sorry, sorry." He looked a little peaked, but not so much that anything - at first glance - seemed out of the ordinary. He lingered there, awkward and silent.

"Cardinal?" Sister Imperator unfolded her arms and gestured, trying to prompt him to enter or at least stop hovering and state his business.

Copia did take a step out from behind the door. In the moment that passed before he seemed to realize that he didn't actually want to come in, he revealed himself to be clutching his upper arm rather protectively.

The Ghouls snapped their heads around to stare at him and something flashed behind the eyeholes of their masks. Buné tipped his chin up, sniffing the air.

At the same time, Imperator noticed something red dripping from under Copia's hand. Which he then held up, revealing some torn skin on his palm - Sister thought she might have even seen bone - before he decided better of that, too, and slapped it back over the jagged tear in the sleeve of his cassock.

"Uh..." Copia looked unsteady, shifting his weight to keep from looking like he was swaying. Was he going to faint? "First aid kit?" he asked, forcing a hopeful expression disproportionate to his obvious condition.

The thought of having to entertain any further nonsense was exhausting, but Imperator came around her desk.

Copia jumped, skittering back from her approach.

Satan help her, she did not have time for _this_ , either. "Let me see your hand," she instructed, motioning for it.

He needed to see it first, though, and apparently hated what he saw. His face blanched even worse. "No. Hey, that's all right," he tried to say, much more upbeat than he had any reason to pretend to be. "I'll find it."

The edge of a deep, splotchy bruise peeked out from under his collar, all the more noticeable now because of his pallor. With all his hands occupied, there were none to stop Imperator from reaching out to inspect his neck. A trickle of blood met her fingers when she grabbed for his collar. She followed the trail back to an open slice on his cheek. She narrowed her eyes and it must have changed the look on her face enough to startle Copia into action again.

He backed away, this time in deliberate steps.

"You're bleeding," Imperator reminded him.

"Yes," he agreed. "Yes, shaving accident. Very nasty. I'll just..." One or two steps out of her reach. Then another couple more to clear him from the danger of cracking his head on the door frame when he dashed away.

The headache kicked wildly, right in the middle of Imperator's forehead. Taking the time to try and physically push it back gave Copia just enough of a head start to disappear around a corner.

"S̵i̵s̴t̴e̷r̴ -"

"No," she snapped. "No. No...no."

"H̷e̶'̷s̴ -"

"I'll _handle it_." Because it had to be something that she could handle. The alternative...was not viable.

Buné and Vinea trailed after her like ducklings when she finally summoned the will to follow the trail of blood her idiot son left behind. The closer to the bathrooms she got, the worse the mess became. Droplets turned to splatter turned to thin lines until it all finally gave way to a smear for the last few feet before the closed door.

Imperator felt the vibration in her chest before she could figure out that a new sound was happening behind her and turned to find that a new Ghoul had joined her party. She addressed him: "B̵̧̧̛̺͚̙̤͙̲̩̣̫͕͔̖̼̝̅̏̾͒̈͋̈́̓̇̓͐̃͆͛̓̓̈͠ę̷̧̧̥̙̳̗̺̦̱͍̞̰̲͉̯͕͚͂̆͆̚ͅḩ̷͖̥̟̜̌̆̒̃̍̈́̈͋̄̚ȩ̵̛̹̞̈́̂̑̓̒̎̔̄͒͋̑͂̓̓͘̕͝m̶̭͓̝͎̩͈̝̓͊̉̈̄̈͆̈̿̽͆̐͛͘͝o̷̡͙̻̳͇͔̥̞͙̱̠̱̩͔̽͗̎̈́͒͛́̔̚͜͜͠t̸̨̞̤̣̫͙̭͙̝̫̪̺̣̮̖͖̝͌̎̽͌̊̽͊̈͜h̶̢̪̟̞̞̲͙̭̻̣̣̼̗͒͗̿̌̈͋̀̈́͆͂͂̽̓̽͝."

All three of them gaped at her, like deer in headlights. Something glinted where the large Ghoul's eyes usually were. He was hunched in on himself, like he wanted to appear as small as possible. Laughable, at his size. With Imperator's attention on him, he shuffled back from the group. Normally, she would wonder how something so huge had the capacity for such bashfulness, but in this instance, it dawned on her exactly why it ought to have a reason to be.

And so help her, Lucifer, if he tried to verbalize why -

"S̸i̸s̴t̸e̷r̶ -"

If he had the _balls_ to speak this out loud - 

"I̸'̴m̷ -"

"STOP," she yelled, without necessarily meaning to, and threw up a cautionary finger. "Just...stop. I don't - I don't want to hear anything until -"

But the shout from the men's room stole her opportunity to chastise anyone and broke the calm she was trying to manufacture before proceeding. Worry no longer had a place on her mind. The urgency with which she slammed open the door was all anger-driven, at this point.

Copia's cassock lay in a crumpled heap on the tile. He himself was bent over, white knuckled as he clutched the sink. In the mirror, Imperator could see a row of something long, white, and alarmingly sharp stabbing outward through his scalp. He was now dripping with blood and - fucking _TEETH_.

"COPIA."

If he had been pale before, the sound of Imperator's voice turned him the same colour as the dentition infesting his flesh. He jumped and spun, wobbling back against the sink and looking like he might vomit - from more than once orifice. "It's not what -" he started stammering until the Ghouls crowded the doorway.

Sister Imperator caught the glance he and Behemoth shared and the red she now saw was not just from the gashes on her son's skin. "YOU -"

Every visible mouth on Copia's body - except the natural one on his face - grinned.

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this last October, inspired by [this awesome piece](https://gooreyguts.tumblr.com/post/188201104417/goretober-day-6-teeth-mesage-from-the-clergy) by @gooreyguts on tumblr. [All of their #goretober Ghost work](https://gooreyguts.tumblr.com/tagged/Goretober) was super rad, take a look when you have a chance!


End file.
